Jupiter Torus Diagram

Jupiter Torus Diagram | February 27, 2003

A cut-away schematic of Jupiter¿s space environment shows magnetically trapped radiation ions (in red), the neutral gas torus of the volcanic moon Io (green), and the newly discovered neutral gas torus of the moon Europa (blue). The white lines represent magnetic field lines.

Energetic neutral atoms (ENA) are emitted from the Europa torus regions because of the interaction between the trapped ions and the neutral gases. The Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument on NASA's Cassini spacecraft imaged those energetic neutral atoms in early 2001 during Cassini's flyby of Jupiter. Energetic neutral atoms also come from Jupiter when radiation ions impinge onto Jupiter¿s upper atmosphere.

For higher resolution, go to the Planetary Photojournal.